


wwell shit

by amporatrash



Series: post-game universe C [2]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Fat Eridan, Fat Trolls, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-04
Updated: 2015-12-04
Packaged: 2018-05-04 20:54:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5348207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amporatrash/pseuds/amporatrash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You don't wander back to the common areas.  Dave has likely spread the news and you're not interested in finding out how that went.  You're striding down a long empty hall, lost in your own thoughts, and that's when you hear Sol's voice from somewhere above and behind you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	wwell shit

**Author's Note:**

> sometimes you gotta rock the boat to get the sailors movvin
> 
> originally written march 2015

You pull your scarf and your cape back on and slip out of Dirk's room, quietly shutting the door behind you. You weren't expecting any of that, but now that it's happened, something feels different. If he meant everything that he said, then you're going to be okay. Well, maybe not okay, but you already feel better. There's no way you can gain the approval of every person in the castle, human or otherwise (and even if you could you don't honestly care), but just knowing that there's one person who doesn't think you're a complete loss is more of a boost than you expected. That, and it's like you can still feel his heat inside you. It's a good feeling.

You don't wander back to the common areas. Dave has likely spread the news and you're not interested in finding out how that went. You're striding down a long empty hall, lost in your own thoughts, and that's when you hear Sol's voice from somewhere above and behind you.

"ED?" Sollux drops lightly out of the air as you turn to gaze up at him. The air around him smells faintly of fresh ozone and warm electronics, a scent you've grown wary of over time. He's zapped you before, and worse. Far worse. Blast psionics are not to be trifled with.

You don't smile, but you don't scowl, either. He did mention he wanted to ask you something, but you can't for the life of you imagine what it might be. The thought that he walked in on you so soon after pailing with Dirk, that he saw you naked and didn't vomit, brightens in your mind. You doubt the sight lingered in his think pan in any favorable way, but he didn't come at you with hostility, so you're going to be civil. "Wwhat is it, Sol? If you wwant to fuck wwith me, then you can yourself just turn right around and go stick your head in somethin' extremely sharp and potentially incendiary." Well. Somewhat civil.

He rolls his mismatched eyes and sighs at you. Not that you can really see the action behind those glasses of his, but something about the way he moves his head gives it away. "No, that'2 not why II'm here."

You pause and take a breath to regroup. "You mentioned you wwanted to ask me somethin'."

"Yeah." Sollux rubs at the back of his neck nervously. He's tall and whip-thin and awkward, and you've always liked those things about him. They make him so pitiable. He's just been such an asshole every time you ever tried talking to him that there's just never been a chance you two might have a less discordant exchange. The whole issue with Fef didn't help, and becoming a sprite together? You suppress a shudder. "Why do you back down all the tiime? You never u2ed two do that."

The question has an uncertain quality, as if he's using it as an excuse to talk to you and had to come up with a question on the fly. You turn to face him fully and lightly work your lower jaw in thought. At least his question seems genuine; it mirrors what Dirk said regarding Dave and maybe Dave wasn't the only one wondering why you don't snap back. "Wwell. I wwas tryin' to be diplomatic, Sol. I kneww none a' you wwere gonna just accept me again, especially wwhen none a' you really accepted me in the first place. At all. Zero acceptance. So I stopped fightin', thinkin' maybe things wwould equal out in time. You'd see I wwasn't a threat and maybe. Y'knoww." You trail off. Maybe what? Maybe you could be friends? Something more? You can't bring yourself to say it. It's too easy for him to throw shit like that back in your face.

"2o, that'2 why."

"Yeah." You sulk, propping one jeweled fist on a curvy hip. "Hasn't exactly been wworkin' but I didn't fully expect it to."

He traps his lower lip between his oversized fangs and rubs anxiously at his arm. "Two be hone2t, a lot of u2 have ju2t been expectiing you two leave."

"And go wwhere?" You glare at him. The castle is some part of your reward for your final victory in the Game. The humans have one of their own too, but they spend all their time in yours instead, as eight people to such a massive structure leaves most of it feeling empty and unused. The planet you've all won is somewhat like Earth, somewhat like Alternia, and somewhat like Beforus, and though you could easily find somewhere else to live, you'd rather not try to muscle your way into a new social group. These trolls were with you through some of the hardest shit in your mutual lives and afterlives, and though they don't like you, their familiarity isn't something you're willing to give up easily. Not to mention the fact that your hive is here and there's a nice coastline with good hunting and at night you can see the city's lights in the distance. It's a beautiful place.

He shrugs in response to your question and manages to look even more awkward. You step a little closer, and he chirrs lightly in the back of his throat, more a delicate request for distance than a warning. You're not used to such subtle cues from him. The sound of his snapping, high-pitched growl is far more familiar to you. You emit a low rumble in response, something like a purr but deeper. You intend it to be calming; he blushes even brighter. Strange.

"D'you wwant me to leavve?" you ask. Might as well just come right out and ask it, but the question clearly seems to have put him on the spot. He shifts his weight from foot to foot.

"No," he finally replies. "Maybe iif you a2ked me that que2tiion a few week2 ago, the an2wer miight have been ye2."

His response puzzles you. You frown a little, tilt your head to the side. Your right fin quirks up and you emit the world's most quiet questioning trill. He coughs into his fist.

"And noww?" Emotional vacillations happen, you know they do. You think about Sollux, about how he's been acting. He's around Dave a lot, but in the last two weeks especially he's been more quiet around you, only joining in teasing you if someone else has started first.

"Maybe II notiiced your uh. Diiplomacy."

"Oh really."

He slouches visibly and lets his arms drop, as if he were exasperated, or begging. "Look, ED, you can't leave. There'2 2uppo2ed two be twelve of u2. There'll only be eleven iif you go and II'd fiind that really fuckiing awkward, okay."

"So it's the numbers thing again."

He facepalms. You can't tell if you're teasing him or not but it feels a bit like you might be and that pleases you in a subtle way. He's clearly circumnavigating some other thing he wants to say and though you can't fathom what it might be, it's fun to poke him a little and try to wheedle it out of him. When he doesn't respond, you continue.

"You could alwways givve Davve the twelfth spot. He seems to fit in wwell enough."

Sollux groans. "No! Becau2e then there'd be 2even human2 and 2even i2n't a multiiple of two and iit would 2TIILL be awkward!" Red and blue sparks dance behind his glasses. You want to chuckle but you don't.

You fold your arms across your chest instead and click quietly at the back of your throat in thought. You're about to touch on a subject you both swore never to bring up.

"D'you miss me." It's a question but the way you say it makes it sound like a statement. His jaw drops and he gapes at you before his brows arch up in the middle and he turns away, groaning again.

"ED, don't do thii2 two me."

"Do wwhat. It's a simple question."

"Iit'2 not that 2iimple and you know iit." He sounds angry but he's not leaving. You wouldn't have had the confidence to bring his up if it hadn't been for Dirk. Maybe you've been misinterpreting Sollux's signals this whole time. It's entirely possible. When the Game ended and you split back into separate trolls, it was as if you both tried desperately to thrust each other completely from your minds, if only to maintain some semblance of mental sanctity, something deeply important to both of you. You've been avoiding each other, plain and simple. Maybe Sollux went back to verbally jabbing you because he's been trying to feel normal again, and for no other real reason aside from that.

"Sure it is. I mean, either you miss me, or you don't. It's not like admittin' you do is somehoww sayin' you'd wwant things to go back to bein' all spritely because I knoww I sure as fuck don't." You pause a moment, let that sink in before saying more. "I still miss you though, Sol."

He slumps visibly and raises one hand to rub at his temple. Tension rolls off of him, and you realize it's the same tension you were feeling before Dirk got his hands on you. It even smells similar. You don't know anything about what Sol's life has been like since you split; you figured he was pailing Dave or Fef or Ar this whole time but maybe he hasn't been.

You step up behind him slowly, purring lowly in your chest. He tenses up, but when you slide your hands around him he melts back against you, sighing. You don't do anything more than that, pressing your cheek between his shoulder blades and purring like a sated beast. It's pretty pale, but you don't care. You want him to relax, that's all. For some reason you can't properly describe, you think he deserves it.

"Dave opened Diirk'2 door and II 2aw you iin there wiith hiim and II got 2o fuckiing jealou2. Liike, out of fuckiing nowhere. II diidn't even thiink about you liike that untiil ju2t then and II don't know what two do about iit." His hands slide over yours and you let him lace your fingers together. He doesn't even seem to mind the hard pressure of your rings, and you're just trying to process what he's saying. When he speaks again, it's in a whisper. "That room 2melled 2o good, ED. That wa2 your 2cent. Fuck, you even 2mell royal. What could you ever want wiith a piiece of 2hiit liike me."

He's never said shit like that. Never in a thousand sweeps did you ever expect him to say anything like that, either. You remind yourself to thank Dirk when you see him next; you've heard of people having the tension fucked out of them but you're experiencing it firsthand. Still floating on whatever cloud he put you on, you can't bring yourself to overanalyze what Sollux is saying, and you can tell that he's not bullshitting you. Having spent so much time in the same head with him, you can easily tell if he tries and he knows that. That road goes the other way, too. Maybe that's part of why you've both avoided each other for the past several perigees. 

You peer up at the back of his head and deliberately ruffle the short hair at the nape of his neck with a breath. He shudders all over and it feels incredible, his own nasal, rattling purr slipping from his throat.

"Thought you didn't care about hemocaste shit like that, Sol."

"II don't." Coming out of his purr, the words snarl out of him like hooked barbs, but there's no threat in their tone, so you stay where you are. "IIt'2 not about the ca2te2. IIt'2 about me beiing a piiece of 2hiit."

You gently squeeze him back against your far less bony figure. His purr hiccups. "I don't touch pieces a' shit, Sol." He hangs his head a bit and you nuzzle between his shoulder blades, purring directly against his spine, ensuring that he can feel the vibration. He's warm, but not as feverishly hot as Dirk, which you're thankful for. It feels far more natural, and god he smells good. He always smelled good in spite of whatever names you called him and you've called him all of them. It's always a little like he forgot to shower or change his shirt, his lowblood pheromones warm and sweet and heady. Of course he forgets. He's always so involved in whatever he's doing at the computer that days sometimes slip by him. He forgets to eat. He forgets to take care of himself. The aura of ozone and warm electronics never quite leaves him, either. It's always one part threatening (hey, those harsher zaps hurt and make your horns feel like they've been struck by a tuning fork) and one part familiar. "Hey," you say suddenly, getting an idea. It feels silly; you're not wrigglers anymore but it's the only thing you can think of. "I'vve got a pile a' scarvves in my hivve. You wwanna come hang out or somethin'?"

He pauses a moment and swallows his purr, allowing himself to speak without snarling. It's a big deal if he accepts your invitation. The two of you haven't been alone together since before the sprite. Finally, he leans back against you a little and utters a single syllable. "Yeah."

You have to go back the way you came in order to get to your hive. You're not keen on the idea because it's going to lead you both past the common area, but you're determined not to let whoever might be there undermine you. As you walk back down the hall, you realize Sollux forgot to let go of your hand and you're not keen on reminding him.

"2o," he begins, talking quietly. "What wa2 iit liike, doiing iit wiith a human?" He's blushing again, all four ears angled lower, as if you might slap him for asking.

You blink up at him. "You mean you havven't yet?" It never crossed your mind that he hadn't. He spends so much time around Dave and his friends, after all. You figured you were the only one not getting any.

Sollux shakes his head. "Not that iintere2ted. II mean, the curiio2iity'2 there, I gue22. IIt'2 ju2t never came up."

"Oh." That's weird to you. Sollux is attractive, and so pitiable. Why would Dirk come for you instead of him first? You'll never understand human aesthetics. "Wwell." You pause. He's not really watching where he's going, more fixated on you and how you answer, and you realize something a little awkward. You frown.

He interprets this incorrectly and stares at his shoes. "II gue22 that wa2 a 2tupiid que2tiion, ED. You don't have two an2wer."

"No no, it's just uhm." You give him a rather pitiful look of your own. "I don't exactly got anythin' to compare it to, that's all."

He nods at that. You wonder if he would have something to compare it to, if he had done it with Dirk instead of you. From your shared memories with the sprite, you know that he didn't have any experiences up until the point you split, but it's been half a sweep since then, and with everyone living together, it only stood to reason that someone must have wanted him. What of Feferi? Wasn't she up his ass the whole time after she dumped you? Was she even still with him? And what of Aradia? It just seems preposterous they'd both seem to like him so much but would refuse to touch him. Maybe their feelings for him were paler than that.

Maybe you're both just losers. Maybe you belong together.

You're quiet for a long time, pondering over all that shit. 

"What?" he asks, as if nervous that you're thinking about him (which you are). 

You're getting close to the common area though, so you think it's best to wait until you reach your block to really get into it. You tell him so and he relaxes, but only for a moment. The path to your respiteblock is interrupted briefly by the sound of sniffling and sobbing. 

The main common area is big and bright. It's a circular space carpeted in lush saffron and decked out in cushy furniture. There are couches and lounges and bean bag chairs, cushions and comfy throws. There's a small, gently-flowing crystal fountain in the center, and a massive TV hangs on the nearest wall, perfect for gaming or watching movies. There is in fact a movie playing on it, and you can tell at a glance it's a human flick. Lots of action and adventure, but it's been turned down low.

You're distracted by it, distracted so that by the time you hear the yelling, it's too late to get out of the way or defend yourself from the human male bearing down on you like a pissed off freight train. Sollux does it for you, catching the enraged figure of Jake English in his psionics and pushing you back.

"YOU FISHY ALIEN BASTARD!" he roars, and everyone in the space gets up to flock around where Sollux has him lifted, just far enough off the ground so that his feet don't meet the floor. You're just out of swinging range but he takes a swipe at you anyway, and if he had connected with it, it would have been unpleasant at best. You'd be looking at broken glasses at least. Jake is a strong, muscular, tall example of a human, and he's glaring at you like he wants you dead. "PUT ME DOWN!" he bellows. He's young but when he gets older, he's going to have a voice like thunder, you can tell. "PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT AND LET THIS GILLY SIDESHOW ATTRACTION FIGHT HIS OWN BATTLES!"

The others don't seem to know what to do. Dave, Jade, Feferi, Nepeta, Gamzee, and Tavros all linger nearby. They stare at Jake and they stare at you and they stare at Sollux and suddenly, your urge to pursue diplomacy evaporates. It's all or nothing; they're either going to hate forever you after this or appreciate you for how you handle it. You draw your shoulders back and stand at your full height, looking him right in his wrathful eyes with your fins fanning upward and out. You keep your own expression calm.

"Wwasn't awware there wwas a battle to be fought," you say blithely.

It's Gamzee that says something first. Of course. His arms linger placidly around Tavros though, and he looks about as calm and lazy as he's ever looked. "MoThErFuCkEr'S aLl Up AnD pIsSeD oFf YoU wEnT aNd ToUcHeD uP oN hIs MaN, BrOtHeR."

"If you must knoww, he wwas the one touchin' up on ME," you clarify, the membranes of your fins brightening in color and feeling hot. 

"THAT'S A LOAD OF INSIPID BALDERDASH IF I'VE EVER HEARD IT, AND LET ME TELL YOU SIR, I HAVE HEARD QUITE A LOT!" He's still yelling, red in the face, thrashing against Sollux's hold on him. Sollux isn't saying a damn thing, clearly concentrating on making sure you don't get pounded in the face. You are certainly capable of fighting your own battles, being a seatroll, but...

"Ask him yourself wwhen he wwakes up," you continue, calm as ever. Fuck, it's a struggle, because you are full-on reveling in this. "He told me he wwas on the outs wwith you, and that you wwere wworkin' through things. Bet more than anythin' he'll be pleased to hear about this passionate outburst a' yours."

Jake mottles. His face is still red but that color is slowly fading. Embarrassment is slowly taking the place of rage, but he's still angry with you, you can tell. The scent of his anger is maddening; it lingers in your senses like a drop of acid. He really does want to hurt you, and that warms your desire to kill him. His fingers twitch in a way you recognize. He wants his guns, but he's not pulling them. You remain resolute that if he doesn't, you won't either. Killing a human isn't a disturbing prospect for you, aside from the fact that it would make Sollux unhappy for there to be seven humans instead of eight.

Feferi is quick to come to Jake's defense though, and you're not surprised about that. Just annoyed. And maybe a little hurt. "-Eridan, don't be so mean! Can't you sea you've )(urt )(is F-E-ELINGS?"

Dave is quick to open his trap too, and that's not surprising either. He turns to Sollux instead of you, however. "Sollux, what the hell. Put English down and let him pound fatty into fish paste. C'mon, it'll be good family entertainment for all."

"No," Sollux replied sharply, gritting his teeth. "II know you want iit two be, but iit'2 not hii2 fault. ED ha2 no quadrantmate2. IIt'2 not on hiim two make 2ure you human2 have all your 2hiit 2traiightened out before he pail2 wiith one of you."

The other trolls in the space suddenly shift awkwardly. Gamzee presses his lips to Tav's hair to hide a grin and Jade is blushing as bright as the dawn, one hand pressed to her cheek.

Jake is still hanging awkwardly in mid-air and Dave isn't satisfied with Sollux's answer. "Come on. Seriously? Who would want to fuck a bucket with him, anyway?"

"JK'2 mate2priit, apparently."

"Please, stop." Jake's genteel voice cuts the chatter and he hangs loosely in Sollux's bindings. He rubs at his brow before brushing at his eyes. "Kindly set me down, would you?"

Everyone backs up, and Sollux does as he's asked, huffing a breath of relief. He staggers closer to you again and stays at your side. You feel incredibly thankful suddenly, not to be standing on your side of this foolish conflict alone.

Jake tugs his jacket straight and smooths down his shirt. He's still glaring at you but he hasn't lunged for you again. "I daresay we can be gentlemen about this," he says suddenly, struggling to keep the growl out of his voice and failing. He sweeps his dark hair out of his eyes and turns to face you. His eyes are a bright, leafy green, bloodshot and brimming with tumultuous emotion. "That pugilistic outburst was quite uncharacteristic of me. My apologies, Mr. Ampora."

You roll your eyes. "Wwhatevver. If you're not out to fuckin' kill me, then wwe're cool. He wwanted me, he got me. That's it. He doesn't wwant to be my 'boyfriend' or wwhatevver you humans call it. And I don't wwant him fillin' any a' my quadrants and I told him so. First off, humans don't do quadrants and I don't do human romance. Secondly, I don't knoww him vvery wwell and he don't knoww me."

Fuck, they're all staring at you like you sprouted a second head. Jake doesn't seem to know what to think. "He's not dumping me?" he asks, eyes bright.

You snort, and then happen to glance over at Nepeta. She's staring at you and practically vibrating in place, and that makes you smile for some reason. "Not from wwhat he told me," you answer. "He says he's wworkin' things out wwith you, wwhatevver that means betwwixt you hornless dirtscrapers, so I imagine that means wwhatevver you got, he don't wwant it to end."

Jake briefly rubs at he back of his neck. For as much as he seems like a young man with his broad shoulders, muscular legs, and biceps that go on for days, he still carries himself like a boy when he gets nervous. You never really considered him attractive before but for a moment you consider it, what it might be like to be pressed between him and Dirk. You decide to relegate that to the realm of eternal fantasy as Dave scoffs.

"Man, here I was hoping for a good old fashioned catfight." He sighs dramatically, even if his face remains completely emotionless. Jade gives him a shove as he heads back for the couch.

"Don't be such a jerk!" she admonishes him, and he doesn't really say anything, turning red at the tips of his ears. She follows him back and sits down with him, though. Gamzee and Tavros follow suit, murmuring to each other. Feferi and Nepeta linger near Jake, though.

"I suppose I ought to be talking to Dirk instead of lunging at you like a wild animal," Jake finally says, chagrin encroaching upon his features. "I can't say I'm happy about it, but. Well, he's reached out to me and I just wasn't ready to open up to him yet. It's my fault he went elsewhere for his jollies."

"Look, I don't knoww wwhat you're goin' on about at this point. But yeah, maybe you better talk to him."

"In the morning." Jake straightens up, steps toward you. You refuse to step back, but Sollux does. A spark of red and blue flashes in your peripheral vision. He's ready to protect you again, and you feel like your bloodpusher is going to burst. "Truce, mate?" Instead of swinging at you, Jake offers his broad hand to you, and you balk at the idea of touching him, but it's a human custom. Your lip curls a little, but you reach out and accept his grasp in your own. His meaty paw is rough and dry, his touch even more feverish than Dirk's. It's almost uncomfortable.

Just like Dirk, his eyes widen as he touches you. "By Jove, you're cold!"

Feferi giggles. "Of course )(e is. )(e's like me, silly!'

He blinks over at her and you have to wonder if something is going on there. "Well yes, but I didn't think--... Goodness."

"It's part of being a sea troll!" she continues, and when she looks at you, her gaze is a little softer. She's attempting to distract and diffuse the situation a little further in her own way, which you appreciate. "We're colder so t)(e water doesn't bot)(er us. Isn't t)(at righ)(, -Eridan?"

"Yes," you reply, though your tone is nowhere near as friendly as hers. In fact, it's not friendly at all. You didn't really intend to sound so bitter, but it's not always something you can control. You badly want to just grab Sollux and abscond with him, but people are talking to you. It's difficult to just step away.

Jake keeps apologizing but he still looks pretty distraught. Fef manages to draw him away from you and bring him back to the others. Some of Dave's own stoic exterior seems to have cracked a little; you don't know why he's sitting there with his head in his hands, still murmuring to Jade, but he is.

That just leaves Nepeta. She's staring between you and Sollux, and you know the shippy gears in her tea-addled sponge are whirling. You're literally turning on your heel to walk away from her when she decides to open her yap. "Hey, Ampurra," she begins, thankfully holding back on her silly roleplaying nonsense while addressing you. She's smiling though, her hands clasped behind her back.

It's Sollux who finally gets exasperated this time. "What ii2 iit, NP? ED and II were goiing two, uh. Do 2omethiing." 

He's never been very smooth. It's okay, you forgive him. His lack of subtlety only seems to intensify her interest in what you're both up to, though. Fantastic. Time for one of your more dramatic sighs. SIIIIIGN.

"This won't take long, Pawlicks! I'm just noticing a t33ny tiny little change in the way Mr. Ampurra is acting! Dave said he pailed with a human!!" She gasps just as dramatically as you sighed, bringing her paws--er, hands--to her mouth in mock surprise. "And Jake reacted pawfully strongly to Mr. Ampurra's presence, so maybe it's true!"

You fix her with an unimpressed glare. "A' course it's fuckin' true, you dirt-eatin' bint. Don't pretend you can't smell it on me. You got a nose sharper than Mindfang's scimitar."

Your slander only makes her giggle, and it's only half-slander anyway. She long ago lost the ability to get offended by you; you'd think it was endearing if she wasn't so annoying. (Well, maybe she's not as annoying as all that but she's ribbed you plenty so you'll rib her right back.)

"Of course I can," she purrs, sidling closer to you playfully. Her eyes seem awfully dilated for this lighting. Sollux frowns and steps closer to you. "I was just playfurly teasing you to s33 what you'd say. You know I can't help dangling a string here and there from time to time. I guess what I should really be asking you is..." She glances around to make sure you're as alone as Sollux will allow you to be and rubs her shoulder against yours. "Do I need to update my shipping wall? Hmm? Hmmmmm??"

Sollux presses against your other side and emits his sharp, snapping growl. He doesn't seem to want anyone touching you and you're briefly dizzied by how strange that feels. It feels even stranger that Nep is pressed against your other side, and you can smell them both. Sol reeks of territorial tension and Nep smells like she always does, teasing and catnip and Equius.

You slip your arm around Sollux, drawing him against your side for more contact, visibly claiming his presence and making your preference clear in front of Nepeta. You wouldn't mind throwing an arm around her too, but you smell like breeding and the last thing you want is for Sol to go for her throat. He stops growling, at least.

She leans away from you, but in a calm and easy way, as if showing with her body language that she meant no harm. Sollux blushes and seems to want to hide suddenly, and you have no doubt he feels like an idiot. It's not every day his instincts get away from him like that.

"I think maaaaybe I do," she murmurs, keeping her voice low and secretive between the three of you. "And not with an inclusion of the Dirk human, either." She eyes you both, and your bloodpusher pounds in your chest. It would have been easy at one time to dismiss Nep's shipping wall as mere fanciful nonsense, but the older you all get, the more you slowly begin to appreciate how attentive she is to every potential romantic connection between you. She's got that hunter's nose; it's like she can pick up on potential romantic chemistry in scent, and beyond that it's just something she loves doing. There's something half-embarrassing, half-comforting, and a little disturbing in asking her to show you the Wall, knowing you might see connections you never imagined and things that might make you rethink how you see your friends.

You did it once, a few months ago. She was kind enough to show you without too much fuss, and you were shocked to see that even though everyone avoided you like the plague, she still included you in a few potential pairings. Nothing flushed at the time, but she had you linked with Sollux in a caliginous manner, and in a pale relationship with Karkat. You bashfully explained how flushed for Karkat you were, but she refused to change the Wall, reminding you how difficult it was to get Karkat to flush for anyone, for any reason. You sullenly had to agree.

"So," she continues, looking excited. "Pawlicks? Ampurra? Am I going to draw a spade tonight, or a heart?"

You look up at him and he looks down at you and your arm is still around his waist. He slips his arm around your shoulders and to be honest, you can't put a finger on what it is you're feeling for him. It doesn't feel black, but it feels like it could turn black if things just-- But you don't like the idea of it being black, really. You've already had whatever rivalry you were going to have. There's no basis for a good rivalry now, especially since you've already bested him.

Especially now that you've been in his head and he in yours.

He bows his head suddenly, making up your mind for you. His mouth meets yours, fangy and awkward, and he kisses you right in front of her. It's a brief kiss, but too deep to be chaste and it makes you flush violet across the cheekbones. She giggles happily, clearly pleased.

"A heart, then! I think I even purrceive the beginnings of an OTP! Pawlicks and Ampurra. Oooh, I called it, I so called it!" She whirls and bounces away from you, and it does funny things to your pump biscuit to see her so thrilled over whatever this is you've got going on with Sollux. It feels like some kind of blessing.

*


End file.
